The first official Dancing With The Stars cast rehearsal photos have been released. Pictured above is Peta, Donald, Maks, and Melissa. You can view more pics of Anna, Jack, Kym, ,Jaleel, Tony, and Martina in a fun gallery at the official site here. There is some serious dancing going on by the looks of them. I’m impressed.

ADDING: Mark Ballas flew to Europe to meet his partner Katherine Jenkins. They have officially started their first rehearsals. Below is a picture she tweeted at her twitter account with the quote, “So this is really happening then…!!” lol So cute!

I'm a fashion and music fan....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. One of my favorite dancing quotes at the moment: "No matter what, nobody can take away the dance you've already had...." ~Gleb Savchenko . For fun music and dance mixes, visit WilUnleashed Soundcloud.

Thank you Vogue, right on time! I have to admit that I’m smitten with the entire group – not a single bleh in the bunch. Even tho we’ve not seen anything with KatBall nor Team WilliBu, I bet they’re gonna sparkle too. I guess no rehearsal shots of Sherriskiy because they don’t need to rehearse that much any more, having all that behind them already Looking forward to the rest of the gang’s rehearsal photos.

the camera person must have been giddy with excitement as well – so many shots are headless LOL

If you check out the website of one of Maria’s projects- http://www.afterbuzztv.com- there is a banner on the top promoting Maria and Derek. If you look at the image on the left of the banner, it could be an image from the title shoot. Derek is in a black shirt and Maria is wearing something pink. I mean, it could be photoshopped just for the banner or it could be a real photo, but they look F-ing hot together!

@dancefan – Can you please explain why it is that you think that Derek “…seems to keep getting partners who have dance experience”? That topic has been discussed ad-nauseum on this site; it’s pretty much been debunked, IMO…

Not that I can remember. Jennie, Brooke and Joanna didn’t have dance experience. Lil Kim is a rapper, Nicole sings and dances, Jennifer danced in a hugely popular movie at least 20 years ago and Ricki did Hairspray but none of those were ballroom.

Nicole is one example of the “prior dance experience” argument that, on its face, holds water. If, of course, you describe what the Pussycat Dolls did as “dancing” (I see it more as ‘simulated sexual acts with either stationary or imaginary objects, but that’s a completely different topic… ). It’s true that Nicole would have had experience in learning choreography, steps, synchronizing with the music, etc… BUT – was her experience superior to, say, Joey Fatone, Joey McIntyre, Lance Bass, or Sabrina Ryan? All of those people were in pop bands; all danced on music videos, all were on DWTS. None of them won it, however. And that brings me to the person that is arguably the biggest “prior experience ringer” of all – Mya, who taught dance classes (IIRC, at the collegiate level, though I’m not certain about that). So all in all, I just can’t see the argument that Derek gets “people with dance experience” any more (or less) than any of the other DWTS pros. The difference? With his teaching ability, choreography, and partnering skills, he WINS…

Liz: Also alot of people say Jaleel is a good dancer. Wouldn’t that also make him have dance experience? People can go to clubs and dance their behinds off, but it doesn’t mean you can do ballroom, does it? People keep mouthing off, but dancing in a movie 20 years ago or so does not make you a professional dancer, I am sorry but it doesn’t. Lets just move on.

:::rolls eyes:::: Seriously?? This dance experience claim thrown at Derek is getting to be so stupid I can hardly believe the people claiming it are serious and not trolls. HE’S HAD ONE. One partner with real, actual dance experience. And so has Mark, Maks and several other of the male pros.

I don’t count either Jennifer or Ricki as I think that’s absurd. Totally absurd to put either of them in the same category with Nicole, Mel B, Sabrina, Mya, Joey, Lance and so on. By that yardstick, *I* have previous dance experience. I learned dances in clubs, after all. If you count Ricki and Jennifer, you also have to count BRANDY. How did people get so myopic on this topic??

Joanna Krupa and Brooke Burke had dance training as children. Jennifer majored in dance at Juilliard. Ricki Lake has Broadway experience and Nicole Scherzinger what can I say. I really like Derek but I think he gets an unfair advantage.

Actually Wynn, Melissa has been called a fanbase ringer (not sure I agree) several times at this site. Much has been made of Jennifer Gray not being a ringer based on dance background and fair enough – let’s say she wasn’t. Having said that, if Melissa is a fanbase ringer then Jennifer most certainly was.

There are all different types of advantages/disadvantages celebs enter the contest with. It isn’t set up to be a level playing field. I find it interesting that it seems like it’s always the women who kind of get tagged with the ringer status. There are some men on the show with some pretty large fanbases & some with prior dance experience.

I took ballet, tap, jazz as a child too & calling me a ringer would be such a joke.

The original film Hairspray did not have a lot of dancing. No idea why Nicole as the professional is thrown out when Mya had the most dance experience. Also when Nicole was on a season with Evan and Erin! Oh yeah, the judges just gave it to them because they are so favored. It had nothing to do with them giving the best performances all season long. Oh wait it was that horrible edit that Evan got in the finals. Unlike weeks of rehearsal clips showing Nicole crying week after week. In those instances, it is real but bad edit for Evan? So a celeb with two legs and breathing and about thirty is fair when given to Mark or Maks or Tony. Fair with Mark gets celebs all younger than forty. But when Derek gets a fifty years old with a bad neck or anyone with two legs, unfair! If you look on paper, most make pros have done well. Actually Mark’s list looks even better than Derek’s partner list. But I guess given his success, it is always getting ringers.

Of pairs show, Melissa seems very focused but thinking she may prove small in movement compared to Maks. Jack seems eager and way serious. Worried Martina may be an ackward mover, but loving her enthusiam and she and Tony seem to appreciate each other. Jaleel and Kym seem to have nice connection and undoubtedly moves. Donald and Peta could look striking together if she can get his posture. Interesting how some pairs have ~a week’s rehearsal time in while others have yet to begin or even meet. This is also one of the busier casts that I can remember in terms of concurrent work/projects.

From the pictures Jack and Melissa probably not going to do good but will have decent slow dance. I predict they’ll be out before mid season. Donald looks like he’s eager but seem a little nervous. I predict he’ll do good for a football player. As expected Jaleel looks like he’s going to do good just from looking at how at ease and laid back he is…I sense no nervousness(plus Kym already said he’s a natural). All you have to do is look at the Pro’s face in first practices. Kym and Peta look happy and Anna and Maks not so much.

I meant in terms of dancing and it sounds as if ringer might be justified in her case in that sense. Not saying it is, but it seemed to be lost in discussion of determining Maria (and his other partners) ringer status.

As to the fanbase, one thing about this cast more than most others is that there seems to be a little of something for everyone and most seem to have some dance experience or promise. Now as to how it translates to Ballroom/Latin and pros channel it and audiences respond…

I meant to add that all of this ringer/unfair talk seems to be directed towards the women celebs and my money (if I were the betting type) would be on either Jaleel (fanbase, entertainer,& I bet he can dance) or Donald (NFL – need I say more) winning.

On topic of the pics, hard to really tell much but I like looking at them.

Heidi, you’re right, I shouldn’t have counted Ricki and Jennifer since they don’t dance for a living. They were taking part of a movie and had to dance for their parts. My mistake.

No, I don’t think that if you can dance in a club or someplace like a party that makes you a ringer or an experienced dancer. I think when we talk about experienced dancers, we’re talking about people who dance for a living and those who have been trained to dance for their careers. This is why I wouldn’t call Jaleel a ringer. I’m not sure about Roshon. I’ve never heard of him til now but I guess he dances for a living besides acting and singing. Either way, neither men have experience in ballroom that I’m aware of. Just because you can dance in a club doesn’t mean you can do ballroom, of course. Ballroom, from what I’ve seen and heard, is much different from other dances and more difficult.

@Jess My you certainly hit the nail on the head with that remark. Listen, they could give Derek a corpse for a partner and someone would still be bitching and whining. And of course, Derek is so much better at what he does than many of the other pros that he’d probably win with the corpse so THERE YOU HAVE IT.

People are automatically shooting off their mouths this time because Maria is pretty and fit but she has no dance experience. In the meantime they are overlooking all the advantages many of the other contestants have ..fanbases, dance training, dance training for months ? with their partners for this season. Hey, that’s all okay, but that dang Derek, he gets all the breaks, favors, advantages and on and on and on and………..

My only foray into this discussion thread… I’m shaking my head at some of the comments because the celebs haven’t even danced yet. Yes, there have been fanbased ringers and dance based ringers, but it comes down to likeability and learning to ballroom dance. How does anyone explain why J R Martinez won last season when he had little fanbase to start and no prior dancing experience?
My feeling is that after two weeks of watching them dance on TV we will have our faves and the Las Vegas odds will be shuffled around. We’ll have a fair idea who will go far and which will be sent packing soon.

Looking forward to this season and can’t wait to see the other couples photos, especially Maria & Derek and Cheryl and her guy-those are going to be two sexy couples.

After seeing that beautiful video posted here of Katherine singing and dancing, and the Disney kid getting down, I’m surprised it’s Maria people are questioning in regards to dance experience-lol She’s already said numerous times that she has no dance experience. She is a hard worker and perfectionist though and yes she breaths so for some that’s all it takes to call Derek’s partners ringers. If there’s any dance ability in her, he’s gonna bring it out, which is what he’s best at doing-afterall isn’t he suppose to do as her professional partner.

I’m really looking forward to a great season and I really like this cast. Let’s just sit back and enjoy it.

Thanks Courtney, Vogue, Heidi and everyone at puredwts for all that you do. It’s appreciated.

Kurt made it to the quarter finals and Chad made it to the semi-finals. Not bad placements at all, so footballers typically do last a bit longer. The only ones that didn’t last that long are Lawrence Taylor and Michael Irvin.

I keep checking to see if there may be a smidgen of new photos and/or videos.

I am over the moon excited with this new cast and anxious for the new season to start. I really can’t say at this point that I have a single stand alone favorite, my list of favorites keeps growing. A great season is a comin’.

I agree with you Dee. I don’t understand why the Disney kid isn’t causing the ringer discussion. Just intuition, but I think Derek’s got his hands full. I don’t think she’s a dancer. I do SO hope I’m wrong.

# dancefan Of course Maria is a ringer…she dances with Derek…and i saw her for 34 sec doing some belly dance…that is a whole lot of previous dance experience…Joanna Krupa took ballet several lessons when she was a kid…that is serious dance trainig….i think i may be a ringer too…i go to Zumba twice a week…damn..if i only knew…Brooke Burke NEVER danced previous to this show. Ricki did i movie 23 years ago where she did some hands choreographie…and she was overweight. Jennifer Grey…studied acting not dancing..i think you got her confused with her dad.. if you have a link where it says she majored in dancing..i would really like to see it…my google couldn’t find one..
then you forget to mention Mya, Lance, Evan, Erin, Bradi…all of them had real dancing experience too… maybe it is not Derek’s fault they didn’t win…maybe the problem was their partner…
# Liz so many times we talked about that… maybe you should read the posts with the ringers part 1 http://www.puredwts.com/2011/09/03/dancing-with-the-stars-celebrity-what-do-you-mean-im-a-ringer-part-i/ and part 2 http://www.puredwts.com/2011/09/17/dwts-celebrities-what-do-you-mean-im-a-ringer-part-2/ … it has all been said before.

dancefan – you are clueless on this topic. By your own yardstick EVERY female celebrity is a ringer – dance lessons as a child?? *I* had dance lessons as a child, so I’m a ringer? It’s just so ignorant that I can’t even believe that people say it with a straight face. Jennifer did not major in dance – even if she did that would be more than 30 years ago BEFORE she injured her neck. Ricki Lake and Broadway? I guess you’ll be calling Florence Henderson a ringer next since she has more broadway experience – I think you confuse Ricki with the other girls that did Hairspray. Ricki hasn’t been on Broadway – the other two women who have played that part have been however.

This topic is moronic. But I will keep pounding away until people get a freakin’ clue.

Actually, Michelle, you’re wrong again. I do in fact call Jennifer a fanbase ringer because of Dirty Dancing – I haven’t posted part three of my series yet. Melissa is as well. Jennifer is NOT, however, an experience ringer. If she is, then BRANDY is as well.

And actually, the only time people complain about ringers is when they are paired with Derek. I suppose it is flattering that everyone is so threatened by him. You are right, there are plenty of male ringers – but they don’t dance with Derek.

I think that some fan groups have been working really hard to sell this idea that Derek only gets dancers and it’s worked because people don’t really pay attention. I saw two people in the last 12 hours ask Derek why he always gets the “young, hot” partners. Ummmm…hello? Okay.

No, Liz, they didn’t “dance for their parts” – they ACTED. Jennifer, if you recall, really only does ONE dance. As for Ricki – obviously you haven’t seen hairspray if you think that was dancing. I could do that dancing – which I think was the point of the movie. Just a bunch of kids doing club dancing.

sukra, Derek seems very happy and upbeat, so really that’s all I care about. I don’t need a win anymore, I just want to see his face on my TV every week. And if he could choreograph some more dances like he did with Anna and Allison last season, I would really appreciate it. Really need to send his trainer some cookies….

LOL – Thanks Princess Heidi for setting me straight, again. My comment about Jennifer being a fanbase ringer if Melissa is was not directed at anyone specifically so I’m not sure why it was taken that way nor why I am wrong when I was just giving my opinion but ok. :/

Personally, I could care less about ringers of either type. It hasnt’ seemed to matter in the past. Those tagged with one type or the other have both won and lost. I dont think it matters much with the voters.

I said you were wrong, Michelle, because you claimed that no one here was calling Jennifer a ringer or people here were objecting to calling her a ringer – that is obviously not true, if you’ve spent any time here. THAT is what you were wrong about and it’s not just your opinion – it’s been said on many occasions.

I would love to see more choreography from Derek like the dances he did in season 13. He really is that good and I guess that is why people make these ringer or favoritism accusations instead if admitting he is talented.

I am curious about Donald. Think the Packer fan base like the Cowboys and Steeler Nation is serious. Athletes have an advantage but from rabid fan bases like Steeler Nation or Cowboys? Do not mess with them! Lol. If Donald is charming and good enough, he is a real threat to who I think is the frontrunner, Jaleel. Katherine looks like she has potential which will help her given not having much name recognition in the US.

I think Maria while having Derek is a plus given he makes his partners look good, might be more vulnerable due to high expectations. Some might just assume a Derek partner has to look amazing right out of the gate. Or being lost among nostalgia factor favorites. I see Maria being decent but not a Brooke. But I think they will have fun. Love to see her at least match Mario, lol.

Jennifer Grey was born on March 26, 1960 in New York City, the daughter of stage and Academy Award-winning screen actor Joel Grey and former actress/singer Jo Wilder.[1] Grey is the granddaughter of comedian and musician Mickey Katz. She is an alumna of the Dalton School, a private school in Manhattan where she studied dance and acting, and where she met her best friend, Tracy Pollan. After graduating in 1978, she studied acting at New York City’s Neighborhood Playhouse under the legendary coach Sanford Meisner, and was trained in dance.[2]

Let me guess, ring a ding ding – Wikipedia right?? Yeah, I bet you modified the post right before you copied it? Like I said, she’s an ACTRESS. Even if she took dance classes in school, it was more than 30 years ago before she seriously injured her neck. Love how you neglect the acting part, which is clearly the major. :::rolls eyes::: Nice try, thanks for playing. Better label Florence Henderson and Cloris Leachman ringers as well.

Perhaps I should have called you “dancefan” eh, ring a ding ding?? Very brave, changing your name. LOL. Too bad you shot your credibility all to hell with the claim that Joanna and Brooke taking dance as children makes them ringers.

Look, I can play too – Derek has stated that going to a performing arts school means you pretty much learn everything:

Brandy Norwood – Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), known professionally as Brandy, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, model actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran’Nu
Raised in a Christian home, Norwood started singing through her father’s work as part of the local church choir, performing her first gospel solo at the age of two.[10] In 1983, her parents relocated to Los Angeles, California, where Brandy was schooled at the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center.[11]

Mel B – Brown was born in Harehills, Leeds, UK, to a white English mother, Andrea, and a black Nevisian father, Martin,[4] and grew up in Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. She has a younger sister named Danielle[4] who is an actress. She studied performing arts at Intake High School, in Leeds, before entering the entertainment industry. For a time she worked as a dancer in the holiday resort, Blackpool, Lancashire. After seeing an advertisement for an audition in a newspaper, Brown started her music career in a band known as Touch. The group left the original management team and eventually teamed up with music manager Simon Fuller. In this pairing, she and the other girls became known as the Spice Girls.

Willa Ford – Amanda Lee Modano (née Williford; born January 22, 1981), known professionally as Willa Ford and often as Mandy Modano, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model, television personality and film actress. She released her debut album, Willa Was Here, in 2001. Ford also has acted in movies such as Friday the 13th, hosted several reality television shows, posed for Playboy and competed on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
In 2005, Ford hosted the first season of the fighting competition reality show The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV.The show aired between January 18 and April 9, 2005. After the show’s finale, the 24-year-old singer was contracted as a summer’s guest doll performer for the Las Vegas shows of The Pussycat Dolls.

Pussycat Dolls?? Sounds familiar. Well, dancing is dancing right?? And those are the only partners of Maks that I looked at! Well, I looked at Melissa and was delighted to find out that she dated Billy Idol!!! That pretty much rocks.

Nice side step, ring a ding ding/dancefan. Nothing to say about all of Maks’ ringer partners, or is it just Jennifer that you have grudge against?? I never said she couldn’t dance – I said she wasn’t an experience ringer. And she’s not. Neither is Brandy, although Brandy is younger and also danced in a movie and music videos.

So, how do you feel about Erin, Mel B, Brandy, Willa, Kristi, Monique, Shawn, Lance, Joey, Marissa, Melissa, Sabrina, Mya, Mario L, Mario and Donny Osmond??? Or is it just Derek you have the grudge against? And they say *I’m* biased?? LOL – okay, this conversation is over. It’s like having a battle of wits with an unarmed man.

You’re kidding, right, Vogue?!? :O Please say you’re kidding. Poor Heidi works her tushy off every season to clearly explain the whole “ringer” thing and it doesn’t seem to do a bit of good. She’s preachin’ to the choir for those of us who get it, and those who ought to be paying attention are sitting with fingers in their ears going “la-la-la-la-la”.

Response to #71, what’s Derek holding in the first pic? Why would they be on the website for broadway and not the others? I would’ve thought Jack and Anna would be there since Jack has done Broadway and Maks and Kym would be there with their partners since Maks and Kym did Burn the Floor in NYC in 2009.

#72 I was wondering that too… I’m guessing because of Derek… He did “Burn the Floor” too and he was the lead in “Footloose” in London and prior to that he was part of the ensemble in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” also in London.

They include Derek on the Broadway site a good bit – I think it has to do with his time on West End in Footloose. Once you’re part of the family and all that. I could be wrong. But it’s not the first time he’s been written up there.

“wynn, no one other than me will call Melissa a ringer because she’s not dancing with Derek. People are idiots.”

I didn’t single Melissa because she happens to be partnered with the one who made Derek/ringer assertions, but rather it seemed she was flying under the radar in discussion of this season’s female ringers (from both fanbase and dance prospective). In fact, I suspect that Maks may actually have an easier task than Derek this season. The Extra snippets I’ve seen of Maria’s ‘dancing’ leave me doubting her rhthym and hip action. She has great charm and lines though and we know that Derek will pull out any & every ounce of dance talent she has.

I’ll put my money on Derek over Maks regardless of the partner, based past seasons. How long till Maks and Melissa melt right on down?? At least I can be certain that, great dancing or no, I will enjoy the Derek/Maria partnership. And that’s all I really want. He’s won three times. If someone else is a better dancer, good on ‘em. Don’t think Maks will get his win this season, though. You have to be able to capitalize on that fanbase ringer status and he tends to shoot himself in the foot eventually. He had Kirstie who, IMO, was a bigger ringer and couldn’t get past Hines. It’s just as much about the combination of people on a season as it is about dance ability and individual fanbase. And this is going to be a hard season, it appears. Right now there are any number of people who could go all the way.

Derek is no doubt more even-tempered and adaptable a teacher than Maks and I am more looking forward to watching him work with Maria. Meanwhile I suspect Maks will aim for the kinder, gentler, supportive, funnier, redemptive angle this season, yet lose some of the hormonal vote to William.